Suspects In Decatur Krystal Murders To Be Tried Separately

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Suspects In Decatur Krystal Murders To Be Tried Separately

DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) – Today, a Morgan County judge ruled on several motions filed by attorneys for three people charged in the Decatur Krystal murders.

Jordaan Creque, Cassandra Eldred and Ezekiel Gholston are each charged with capital murder in the deaths of Jessie Aguilar and Jeff Graff. They are also charged with robbery and attempted robbery.

Thursday, the suspects and their attorneys appeared before Judge Glenn Thompson, along with prosecutors assigned to the case. The Judge heard 27 motions the defense had filed, ranging from requests to try the defendants separately, to motions asking to squash the indictment, to one complaining about punctuation errors in one of the documents in the case.

The judge did rule that Gholston, Eldred and Creque will be tried separately. No trial dates were set.

Judge Thompson didn’t rule yet on a handful of motions, some of which dealt with the racial makeup of the grand jury. A grand jury reviews evidence in a case and determines whether or not to indict the suspects on charges they face. If an indictment is issued, the case then proceeds to trial.

Jesse Aguilar and Jeffrey Graff were shot to death in the early morning hours of August 24, 2011. An employee coming to work at the 6th Avenue location found them dead inside the store.

Following the hearing Thursday, WHNT News 19 spoke with the father of one of the suspects. You’ll hear from him on WHNT News 19 at 6:00 p.m.